LONDON, November 24/PRNewswire/ -- British businesses are being held back by managers who fail to get the best out of their staff, according to the latest Workers' Index published by MORI and The Work Foundation. Almost one in four employees (24%) say that they are not inspired by their bosses and just over a quarter (27%) say that senior managers fail to provide them with a clear vision.
Moreover the situation has deteriorated since the first Workers' Index in February this year. At that time two-thirds (66%) of employees said that their managers had a clear vision for the organisation whereas now fewer that three in five (57%) feel this way.
Furthermore, sixty per cent of those critical of their employer identify improving the quality of management as the top priority for the organisation, while it is mentioned by just 18% of those who would speak highly of their employer.
David Coats, Associate Director - Policy at The Work Foundation said: "There are some hard messages here for many British managers. Big improvements in communication are needed if employers are to unlock the full potential of their staff. The underperformers must learn a simple lesson from world-class British businesses - there is no substitute for genuine employee involvement and engagement."
Gideon Skinner, Research Director at MORI, says, "Our employee research shows that both line managers and senior managers play a key role in successful organisations. Managing day-to-day issues is just the beginning; staff also pick up on the vision (or lack of) for their organisation set out by senior management, and how likely are you to be enthusiastic about your company if your line manager can't be?"
Alexandra Jones, Associate Director at The Work Foundation commented: "Poor management saps the motivation of staff: critics of their employers are twice as likely to say higher morale is vital for them to do a better job. Improved management is vital if the UK is to have a happier and more productive workforce."
Notes to Editors:
- MORI and The Work Foundation are working together on the Workers' Index to draw on MORI's wide range of expertise in conducting high quality market and public opinion research and The Work Foundation's long experience of researching and working with public service organisations.
- The Workers' Index aims to monitor trends in the public and private sector to understand whether there are differences between the two sectors in their attitude towards their organisation, their senior managers and the services they deliver. Research has demonstrated a link between employee commitment and the quality of services, and between staff advocacy and organisational reputation.
- The Work Foundation is an independent, not-for-dividend, evidence-based research organisation & consultancy.
- The Work Foundation exists to inspire and deliver improvements to performance through improving the quality of working life. It believes that productive, high performance organisations are those committed to making work more fulfilling, fun, inspirational and effective, and through engaging their workforce succeed in integrating the many aims crucial to organisational success.
- Founded in 1969, MORI is one of Britain's fastest growing market and public opinion research agencies and the 20th largest research firm in the world. It provides a full range of quantitative and qualitative research services, working with hundreds of clients in both the private and public sectors. MORI embraces both traditional and technologically advanced research methods. Based in London, with offices around the world, MORI adds value to research with interpretation, recommendations, and advice. Experienced staff also offer clients a perspective from national and global socio-cultural trends. With a huge library of research data, MORI has benchmarks and norms in several fields, providing useful context for clients' findings. MORI holds an important position within the British media, regularly providing senior staff as commentators across a broad range of topics.
Technical Details
- This is the second wave of the Workers Index, which tracks employees' views towards their organisation, their management, and their priorities for helping them do a better job.
- MORI interviewed a representative sample of 1,028 adults in 197 sampling points across Great Britain. Respondents are all full or part time workers or self-employed.
- Fieldwork took place between 6 - 13 October 2005, face to face in respondents' homes.
- Where results do not sum to 100, this may be due to multiple responses, computer rounding or the exclusion of don't knows/not stated
- An asterisk represents a value of less than one half or one percent, but not zero
- Data are weighted to the profile of the British population
- Trend results are shown against the first wave of the Workers Index, which interviewed 970 British adults in work between 17-21 February 2005.
www.theworkfoundation.com
Source: The Work Foundation
